Ulster County has expanded its 9-1-1 emergency services to include the capability to receive emergency messages via text. This new service allows people using cellphones to send a text message to 9-1-1 in an emergency when voice calls are inappropriate, ineffective, or unsafe.
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said,”This new service can save lives when the caller is deaf, hearing or speech-impaired, or in situations that are too dangerous to make a voice call.”
The county’s 9-1-1 Coordinator Andrew Cafaldo explained, “Dialing 9-1-1 and talking to our dispatchers should still be the primary means of initiating emergency services as it will be the fastest, but having this alternative is a huge step forward for Ulster County.”
The county specifies that texting a 9-1-1 message should only be for an emergency when placing a voice call is not possible. Examples include if the caller is deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired, or when speaking out loud would put the caller in danger. Ulster said that the texting service is just within the county and not available everywhere in New York state and the U.S.
